


Arbitrary Life

by Shi_Toyu



Series: Providential Tidings [2]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Death, Child Neglect, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Prequel, Rebirth, Training, Triggers, Underworld, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5490074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prequel to Fortuitous Revenge, covering the events mentioned in Chapter 13.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dream, A Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not as awful as it sounds/will look from this first chapter. I swear, guys.

The grit that covered the floor wherever they were bit into Tony's cheek where it was pressed into the ground. His hands were bound behind him and his shoulders burned with the strain of being put into such an odd position for so long. The eight-year-old bit down on the gag that had been shoved in his mouth to keep from whimpering as he rolled a bit to get a better look at the three men who had taken him from his school. He recognized the one in the black suit as the driver who was filling in for Jarvis while the Stark butler was out of town visiting his sister. Jarvis never would have let this happened.

The driver had picked Tony up from his private school right on time, Tony's third grade teacher barely glancing at him to confirm his identity now that it was four days in to Jarvis's trip. He'd been nice the first few days, Tony'd thought. Not as nice as Jarvis, of course, but nobody was as nice as Jarvis. They'd pulled up to a stop sign just two blocks away from the school and the other two men and climbed on in. It'd only taken Tony moments to figure out that he was being taking and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it.

Tony had never been kidnapped before, but he'd known for a while that it was something likely to happen. His father had money and enemies and that meant that Tony was a prime target. There'd been an attempt before, when Tony had been just three years old. The kidnappers had broken into the Stark mansion while his parents were away at one of his mom's charity galas. Tony hadn't even known they were there until after Jarvis had incapacitated them. Tony only ventured out of his room because of the ruckus in the hallway.

Once he'd been tied up, the kidnappers didn't really seem to have much of an interest in him. He'd always thought this sort of thing would be a bit more violent, but it hadn't been. They'd carted him into the cabin and left him in a corner as they set about making the phone call to Tony's father. They left it on speaker phone, all three on them were sitting at the rickety table the phone was placed on. Tony wasn't entirely sure how it was still standing. They had to call three times before Tony's father picked up.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?"

Tony winced. His father was drunk. Of course he was. It had to be 4pm by this point, maybe even later. The kidnappers had driven him far out of the city.

"Mr. Stark," the man who spoke wasn't the one who'd been Tony's driver, "it's a good thing you picked up. We have something that belongs to you."

He sounded confident, sure of himself. Tony just wanted this whole thing to be over as soon as possible. It was cold here and they didn't have any electronics for him to mess with. He needed to get back home if he wanted to finish the hoverboard he was working on by the weekend.

"Keep it quick. I don't have all day."

The men exchanged glances.

"Your son, Mr. Stark. If you want him back, you'll put $300,000 into a duffle bag and leave it at the base of the Sherman Monument in Central Parl. You have until midnight tonight to get the money ready. Do not involve the police. Do not tell anyone else. Deliver the money yourself."

There was a beat of silence before loud, gruff laughter filled the room, made tinny as it was filtered through the phone. Tony's chest ached and he pressed his face into the floor to hide his gathering tears. Stark men were made of iron, his father had always said. Stark men did not cry.

"You pathetic pieces of shit," Howard hissed, his drunken slur sounding no less angry. "Did you think it would be so easy? So simple? You'd never get within a mile of my son. Go fuck off with someone else's time. If you call back, I'm handing it over to the police for harassment."

The line ended, the dial tone nearly deafening in the silent room.

" _Fuck_ …Did he just…? Holy shit!"

The man who'd been speaking to Tony's father stood abruptly, hands flying to bury themselves in his dirty blonde hair. Tony watched him warily out of the corner of his eye. Tony's driver reached for the phone to place it back on the receiver. He stared at it like it was some mythical creature he'd never seen before and was more than a little afraid of.

"Maybe we should call him back…"

"Are you crazy?" Blondie rounded on the driver. "He'd hang up in a second and we'd have the cops breathing down our neck in a heartbeat!"

The third man was shaking his head.

"'Let's kidnap the kid,' you said. 'It'll be _so_ easy. It's not like that asshole ever even pays attention to him.' Yeah," he growled aggressively, "so little attention he hasn't even noticed the kid is gone _hours_ after the fact."

"We just have to convince him we really have the kid," the driver tried to protest. "We could put the kid on the phone-"

"He'd never stay on the line long enough," he was cut off by the blond one. "Hell, he's so drunk he might not even recognize his kid's _voice_ …I'm not even convinced he'd recognize the kid if he were sober."

"So, what?" The driver was getting angry, too, by that point. Tony tried to wiggle backward away from them. He'd always hated confrontation. "We send him proof of life? Are _you_ gonna be the one to cut a finger off? Maybe an ear?"

Anthony couldn't help the noise that escaped him, then, and all three of the men snapped to look at him. The third man, who hadn't spoken much, gave a huff of exasperation.

"No one's cutting off anything." He walked toward Tony, ignoring the boy's cringing away as he hauled Tony up into a seated position. "Neither of these idiots is gonna hurt you, kid. They don't have the stomach for it and I wouldn't let 'em in the first place." He shook his head with a sigh. "This was a dumb idea from the start."

The anger between the other two seemed to have cooled off just a bit.

"What're we gonna do, Bill?"

"We're gonna get our asses out of here, is what, go to Cali or something. It's what we should have done in the first place instead of kidnapping some rich fucker's kid to get the money for our debts. Grab what you need here and put it in the car. Put the Stark car in the shed. Nobody's gonna come lookin' for it here."

"What about the kid?" Blondie asked.

The guy who'd taken charge reached inside his jacket, taking out a vial half-full of some clear liquid and a needle. Tony whined and tried to squirm away without much success.

"Can't take him with us. Sure as Hell can't take him back. I'll give him enough to put him to sleep." His gaze transferred to Tony. "Don't worry. This'll make you feel real good. I'll untie you before we leave and you can go as soon as you wake up again. You wanna go home right?"

It was a struggle to keep the tears from spilling down his face as Tony gave a shaky nod. The man smiled at him. He was missing a tooth.

"Good. Then hold real still for me, okay? I know the needle is scary but it'll hurt a lot more if I miss the vein."

Tony trembled on the ground as the man filled the needle before grabbing his arm at the elbow. The man pulled Tony closer to him. The other two were grabbing various things from around the cabin. Tony could hear things being moved even though his eyes were glued to the silver needle being pushed into his arm. The first tears spilled down his cheeks, prompting the man to shush him gently.

"Hey, now, it's okay. Everything's gonna be just fine, alright? You've got nothing to worry about."

It was only seconds after the needle had been removed from his arm that the drugs hit him. Tony sagged into the man's side, the entirely of his eight-year-old bone structure feeling like jello. He felt warm, too, and sleepy. His head was fuzzy, all the various thoughts that normally ran through it having been swept away with the tide. The room spun in a dizzying fashion and Tony let his heavy eyelids slip shut to block it out.

He was lowered gently to the floor as the man began untying him. His limbs felt impossibly heavy. How was he possibly going to go home when it was so hard to move? His arms and legs stayed sprawled out wherever the man left them. A large hand ruffled his hair lightly before moving away. He wished it would come back. He wished his father would ruffle his hair. He'd seen the parents of some of his classmates do it to them. Why didn't his father want to do it to Tony? Why wasn't he ever good enough?

The warmth that had first consumed him was long gone, leaving him freezing and shivering. He tried to pull his arms in to wrap around himself but they refused to obey him. His eyes wouldn't obey him, either, when he tried to force them open. Tony felt like he was sinking, falling further and further into a black pit. Tar clung to him, seeping in through his skin and clumping inside of his veins. Tony tried to scream, tried to call out for help, but it was swallowed up by the void…if any noise even made it out.

The tears came in earnest then, iron be damned. They rolled down his cheeks like lava, burning even as they hardened. His father would think him so pathetic if he could see Tony now, but Tony couldn't stop the tears, couldn't stop the desperate heaving of his chest. Lava must have been in there, too. His lungs burned, burned for air. He couldn't breathe, couldn't suck in a single breath. His mouth wouldn't open, his throat wouldn't work. Oh, God, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to d-


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets introduced to royalty.

Hela knew the moment he entered her realm, felt the deep shudder as it ran through her mind and down her spine. She had grown so accustomed to souls coming to reside in Helheim that very few registered with her anymore. Those that did were the ones who bore great burdens, souls bound in chains that threatened to drag them into pits where even she would not be able to reach them. It was her duty to help these souls, for they had great destinies tied to them.

"Excuse me," she broke her conversation off abruptly, leaving the long-dead woman she had been speaking to behind her.

Sand shifted beneath her feet as she strode across the training grounds, the members of her guard shifting almost unconsciously in their spars to let her pass uninterrupted. The stone from which her palace was wrought was warm underfoot. She did not hurry, did not lower herself to show that sort of weakness, but she did walk with purpose. There would be no distractions from this soul, not until she was able to save it.

She found him on the palace steps, the front entrance, where these souls so often appeared. It startled her to find a boy who looked so young there now, and a human no less. He must have been very young indeed. Hela knelt beside him, her flowing dress pooling around her, the delicate fabric shimmering in the reddish tint of the realm's eternal sun. The boy's skin was a rich tan color, his hair a chocolaty brown. She could tell even at a glance that his dreams were troubled. She lifted him into her arms and rose.

"Come, little one. Let us find you a place to rest and I will see what weighs upon you so."

They passed few as she carried the boy's limp body through the halls of her palace. The transition from life to death was never an easy one. It was a lot of strain to put a soul through. Very rarely did any being make it through the journey while still conscious. Those that did were only the most powerful of beings, beings who were nigh impossible to kill in the first place. No child of any race or origin could have achieved such a feat. He would be out for quite some time.

She took him to her own chambers, to the sitting room at the forefront. A plush sofa of golden brocade and rose wood was placed artfully before a white stone fireplace with matching armchairs to either side. She settled the boy on the sofa with his head on her lap, the fingers of her flesh hand running through his hair gently. She kept her other hand carefully away from him, dark, leathery skin draped over the armrest. His dreams were disturbed enough. She did not need to add to his troubles.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, the weight of her antlers keeping her pressed against the top curve of the couch. Images flitted behind her eyelids, elusive and insubstantial at first but becoming for solid with each pass her fingers made through the boy's hair. Ah, there it was. A name. Anthony Edward Stark. Tony. She sank deeper into his mind.

He was eight years old, so incredibly young. He'd been taken by three men, only one of which he knew even in passing. They had wanted money from another man, Tony's father. Howard Stark had not paid. She grimaced as she saw how the boy had died. She knew all too well the pain carried by the souls who died such sudden, startling deaths. They had not time to prepare, no time to come to terms with the events of their lives. The boy's memories traveled backwards now, showing her more of his life.

She saw an older man in a suit, silver haired with a white apron tied around his waist. He was smiling and Hela could feel the affection Tony held for this man. Not his father, the boy's mind supplied. Jarvis. The butler. He was making cookies before his trip to visit family, an apology for leaving the boy alone. He was a good man, Hela could tell, but a dangerous one by human standards. It would serve Tony well to have a man like this at his side. She could see his timeline, though. Tony would lose him in less than a decade when he came to join the ranks of Hela's subjects.

School, she saw, was far too easy for the young boy. He became quickly bored with his teachers and set out to do whatever caught his attention, for which he was constantly in trouble. His teachers were constantly irritated by him, his classmates resentful. His only comfort, it seemed, was knowing that he would be allowed to start skipping grades next year. He would not see these people again.

Ah, yes, the father. The last time Tony had even seen the man was a full two weeks before his kidnapping. Howard had been drunk then, too, and angry about something. Tony did not know what. Tony had wanted to show Howard the blueprints for a new engine the boy wanted to build, much more powerful than his last one. Howard had brushed him off, then lashed out when Tony had insisted. He'd snatched the drawn plans from the boy's hands and ripped them in half with a growled, "I don't have time to deal with this, Tony. Go bother your mother." Maria Stark had been out of the country. She wouldn't be back for a few more days at least.

Hela let the memories flow through her mind at their own pace, drifting along their own path. She had seen the boy's entire life before something else, something other, reached out to brush against her. _Destiny._ She shuddered at the strength of the feeling. It was like a cloying scent, catching in her throat and cutting off her air. Her back arched as the fingers in Tony's hair spasmed. She had not been prepared for that kind on hit. This was only a _child._ A _human_ child. And she had already seen his entire life up until that point. He had not accomplished anything to have come close to achieving even the slightest hint of destiny. There was only one explanation. She had to send him back.

She frowned at the thought, though there was no question of the path that she must take. There was much in life that was left up to choice and to chance. She knew this better than most. The possibilities for the future were endless. She could keep this boy, cradle him to her bosom and keep him away from experiencing any more pain. He deserved nothing less, with all he had already been through. Her gaze drifted to his boyish face, the excess baby fat still clinging to his cheeks. Keeping him would bring about the end of all the Nine Realms. She could not make that choice. So the only question left was how to get him back. As difficult as the transition from life to death way, the transition back was all the harder. It was not something this boy could go through even if Hela could just pick and choose who she sent back.

Hela understood the necessary part that death played in the balance of all existence. Of course she did. She had known even before Mistress Death had deemed her as favored and entrusted her with the sacred duty of caretaking the realm of the dead. That did not mean, however, that she never felt the tug at her heartstrings to send back one who had come to her. Mothers of young children, victims of unwarranted violence, dreamers who'd possessed such potential; she had encountered them all a million times over and made the hard choice of her duty over her desires. This was the first time she was choosing to send someone back when she wanted nothing more than to keep them.

The boy stirred beneath her fingers, his eyes scrunching up a bit as he neared consciousness. Hela straightened her back, erasing all signs of weakness. Now, with a witness, she had to play her role as queen. There was no room for faults, only assuredness. Later, once she had the boy settled in, she would make the journey to seek out Mistress Death herself and beg her council. Hela smiled as the boy's eyes blinked open.

"Hello, Tony Stark," she spoke softly, aiming not to startle him.

She knew full well that her features appeared monstrous to most, especially those from Midgard. Her hair and body split down the middle in color, the blackened half of her skin tugging against the soft pale half. Her antlers have been compared to the horns of Midgard's mythic devil more than once. This boy had already been through so much, she did not wish to cause him any more torment. Instead of yelling or jerking away as she excepted though, the boy just stared up at her with wide eyes the color of caramelized sugar.

"Am I still dreaming?"

She leant down to press a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I am afraid not, my dear. I am Hela, queen of Helheim. It is the land of the dead."

The boy sat up slowly, his small fists clenching as tears gathered in his eyes.

"I'm…dead?"

"For the time being. Your stay here with me will be shorter than most, rest assured."

He swallowed roughly a few times.

"Good. I-Dad would be so mad if I died. I'm supposed to take over the company! I have to go back so I can show him I can do it!"

Hela bit back the desire to tell him that his father did not deserve such devotion. It was not her place to meddle in the affairs of the living.

"We will get you home, Tony. Don't you fret. Now, come, I must make arrangements for your stay."

It was not exactly common for newly arrived souls to stay at the palace. They did not require rest or sleep as the living did. Their physical limits were all but obliterated. It was difficult to tire when one did not have a body to become exhausted. There were no quarters in the palace except for her own and the barracks for her personal. The barracks were sparse, with rooms only for cleanliness and relaxation, but they would have to do. Besides, the boy needed supervision, someone to look after him. She would leave him with one of her Valkyries while she traveled to see Mistress Death. The man would not be in his quarters, she knew. Though he had some set aside, he preferred to live outside of the palace grounds.

"What is this place?" the boy asked as they walked. "Is it Heaven? There's certainly a lot of gold. Mamma always said that there would be a lot of gold in Heaven."

Hela felt a smile curl her lips and she reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. She knew how he starved for a kind touch and he stood at the perfect height for it.

"No, little one. Heaven is a myth invented by your people. Neither is this Hell. Helheim was the inspiration for both places and has some resemblance to both stories. All dead come through this realm, though some go elsewhere when needed."

Tony frowned, seeming to mull this information over.

"So what about God? Is he here?"

"You will not find God here," Hela evaded.

The boy pursed his lips and did not speak again for a long while.

"How long will it be before I can go back?"

Hela had known the question was coming, but she'd hoped to put it off for as long as possible.

"It will take time, but I will slow your timeline so you will not be gone for too long. I will know more soon. For now, there is someone I want you to meet." She steps out onto to training grounds, the soldiers there in almost the same configuration they had been in when she left. She waved one of them forward. "This is who will be looking after you while I must make a small trip. He is a loyal soldier and a great man. He is human, too, from your world. It should make things a bit easier for you."

The soldier bowed as he reached them.

"My Lady Hela."

The queen smiled.

"Leonidas. I have a task for you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hela seeks out Mistress Death for her advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah...I actually wrote this about a week ago and then forgot that I hadn't posted it...Oops! Sorry, guys!

 

The trek to the domain of Mistress Death was not an easy one, to be sure. There was plenty of magic involved, ancient magic so old it was hardly recognizable anymore. It was the kind of magic that had existed even before the Old Gods and kept out any who shouldn’t be trying to see her. Only those she favored, the ones she chose, could enter her domain. It was both a blessing and a curse. The trip was harrowing, every time.

Hela felt as though the weight of entire world weighed down upon her. Ghostly touches slid over her limbs and clothes, the remnants of those Mistress Death _dis_ favored, burdened forever to this state of not-quite existence. They served as a deterrent to any who thought to cross the Mistress. She was not known for her kind, understanding demeanor.

Cold stone was smooth under Hela’s bare feet as she passed the final distance into the sanctuary and the center of Mistress Death’s domain. The area was crested with a small hill, atop of which rose a bare, white tree with a shrouded figure standing underneath. Mistress Death did not turn as Hela approached.

“My Lady, I come seeking your guidance.”

“The boy.”

Her voice was soft, like the touch of a feather, and sweet like honey. It was inviting, the greatest disguise for her true ruthlessness if tested. Death was not cruel, from all that Hela had seen, but she could not precisely be classified as kind, either.

“Yes. I know that he must be sent back. The feeling of the destiny he carries is…I can hardly describe it.”

Finally, Mistress Death turned to face Hela. Her features were obscured by the shadows of her cowl until only the faintest of outlines could be seen. Hela had always thought she must be stunningly beautiful.

“There is no need for you to. I already know. He is one of mine.”

Hela couldn’t be sure if she simply meant that the boy was one of dead or if she meant he was one of her favored ones. At this point, Hela would have readily believed either.

“The boy is staying with Leonidas for now. When he passed, his own son was not far from Tony’s age.” She paused. “Sending him back will be a great hurdle.”

She got the distinct impression that Mistress Death was smiling at her.

“A fine choice. He will be of great help to the boy, as you will be. He will need all of your wisdom, all that you may be able to teach him while he is here. He has much to learn before he is ready for what he must do, and it will come upon him quickly.”

Hela brushed aside Death’s refusal to use names. She was long accustomed to it by this point.

“He is but a human. He will not live a terribly long life. I was surprised to feel such a powerful destiny attached to his soul.”

“He will come again to this realm,” Death said fondly, “before it is his time. It will be by his own choosing, then. He will come to see _you_.”

Which was unexpected, to say the least. Souls did not simply pop back and forth between death and life. That was not how these things worked.

“I will have to get him back first, I am afraid. I have slowed his timeline, of course, which will buy us time before he is missed in the world of the living, but it will only last so long.”

As she well knew. If too much time passed on Midgard before they were able to return Tony to his body, there was a risk of the body being discovered and his death reported. Even if that didn’t happen, the body would begin to decay and regenerating the dead tissue upon his return would be unimaginably painful. Hela was loath to inflict such a fate upon a child, particularly one who had already been through so many trials in his short life.

“It will be time enough,” Mistress Death said easily. “You needn’t worry.”

“My Lady,” she hesitated, “are _you_ planning to send him back?”

It would certainly be far easier for Mistress Death to grant life once more than it would be for Hela. Hela, after all, only had the powers that Mistress Death granted her. A hand reached out from within the folds of Death’s shroud to press flat against the tree. Death’s skin was nearly as white as the tree itself, her almost-frail hand so thin it looked like little more than bone. More deception. Mistress did not need physical strength to bring those who opposed her to heel.

“I will not need to. You have already begun the process.”

Hela blinked, her lips pulling down just a touch to show her confusion. Mentally, she ran through all that she had done with the boy, which wasn’t much.

“I am sorry, My Lady. I do not understand.”

“You are your father’s daughter,” Death prompted. “Surely you are not so easily foiled.”

Hela’s lips thinned. She regarded Mistress Death’s opinion highly. Hela did not want to disappoint her.

“I do not have the ability to send souls back to their bodies as you do. Only my Valkyries may move freely between the realms at my command but they do not return to their bodies as Tony must.”

Mistress Death removed her hand from the tree, black soot left behind as a perfect mark of where it had been.

“When was the last time you took a new Valkyrie? None of them ever return in time for their bodies to remain. With no body, there is nowhere for their souls to return to. The soul always remembers where it came from, though. It will return if the vessel is there.”

One of Hela’s delicate eyebrows rose.

“You wish for him to become a Vakyrie, My Lady?”

“He would not have to join the ranks of your guard until after his final death. So long as he goes through the training, it will fulfill the requirements of what must be done. You will be able to send him wherever it is you would like.”

“It will be a grueling process.”

Death tilted her head just a bit as she examined Hela. The goddess wished, not for the first time, that she could know what expression Mistress Death wore.

“He is a strong boy. He will be able to take whatever you choose to give him.” Fondness entered her voice. “His training has no doubt already begun, considering with whom you left him.”

“Leonidas was from Sparta. His thirst for battle and the life of a warrior rivals even the more fervent of the Aesir.”

This earned a little nod from her Mistress.

“Which is why he is one of the few humans who have made it into your ranks. But something still bothers you, I see.”

Hela pressed her lips tightly together.

“It is nothing, My Lady. I know what I must do.”

“Tell me.”

Loath though Hela was to show weakness before her Mistress it would be pure folly to disobey an order so direct as that one.

“I have seen the boy’s life, is all, as I see the lives of all souls who pass into the realm you tasked me to watch over. He has been through much already in his short life, yet he shows astounding loyalty to those who have caused him his greatest pains.”

“You do not wish to send him back.”

“But I know well that he must go. You need not worry that this will influences the choices I make.”

Death’s laugh was lilting and light.

“Of course it will affect your choices and I would wish it no other way. You will show the boy favor and kindness. He will need that memory for when he goes back, if he is to face what’s to come and survive it stronger than he was before.”

“Your words do not ease my worry for him, I confess.”

“They are not meant to. The boy deserves your worry. His life, and his deaths, will not be easy ones.”

“Yes…you mentioned that this would not be the only time I would need to send him back. What…precisely is it that he is meant to do?”

She almost did not want to ask, for fear of the answer.

“You will see in time,” Death said. “You are too close to him for me to tell you anything more. He is one of _your_ favored ones, too.”

The distinct feeling that Death was smiling at her came again.

“I find myself growing fond of him already, it is true. There is something about him that draws me in.”

Death tipped her head just the slightest bit in a hint of a nod.

“He will send many to you, in the years to come. Not all of them will be by his choice.”

Hela’s spine stiffened.

“Again, your words do not ease my worry for him.”

Death laughed again.

“Go. Your charge will need your guidance.”

As dismissals went, that was a pretty clear one.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions of the training grounds

Hela supposed she was unsurprised to find Leonidas and Tony in the training ground when she returned to her palace. They were sitting on a fallen pillar, their backs to her, and Leonidas had his shield in hand. She slowed her approach, not wanting to disturb them just yet.

“A warrior’s greatest honor,” Leonidas was saying, “is to fight with the men at his side, to defend the men at his back. Those who stand with you should be given every ounce of your loyalty and you shall have theirs in return. A warrior is only as strong as those who are on either side of him.”

When the boy spoke, Hela could hear the frown in his voice as well as the curiosity.

“And what if I fight alone?”

Leonidas chuckled in his deep baritone.

“You never fight alone. Those who care for you, and who you care for in turn, will always be in your heart. They will give you strength when you fear you have none left, courage when yours has fled you, and determination when you face odds that seem impossible.”

The boy looked down and Hela had little trouble imagining what his expression must be. She had seen his entire life from his own point of view, after all. She knew him well.

“I don’t like being alone.”

Leonidas curled a large hand around the boy’s small shoulder and squeezed it gently.

“None are meant to be alone. In all the creatures and species I have met since I came to this realm, never have I met one who was meant to be alone. There are some who chose it, driven there by desperation and pain caused to them by others, but they would happily turn to company were they simply shown some kindness. Of course, not all of them might trust such a kindness the first time it is given. Remember this, Tony. No being turns evil simply for the joy of it. What turns a man evil is pain and suffering, anger beyond all else. It is a trap any could fall into.”

“Do you think I could become evil?”

“You could,” Leonidas dipped his head in acknowledgement, “but you will not.”

Tony head finally came up.

“How do you know?”

“Because you do not want to be,” Hela spoke before Leonidas could, making the boy jump. She smiled at him kindly. “I see Leonidas has been teaching you that which he knows best. Should I expect you to be an expert with sword and spear by now?”

The boy was filthy from head to toe, his hair and clothes a mess. Were he not dead and able to get such things, Hela was sure he would be covered in bruises as well.

“I, um-“

“He is doing well,” Leonidas said, when it seemed Tony would be unable to come up with words of his own. “He shows true promise.”

Tony struggled to hide both his pride and his nervousness so Hela slid a hand, her flesh hand, into his hair to ruffle it slightly. He leaned into the touch easily.

“Good. He is to be a Valkyrie.”

Surprise shone from both of their faces, but it was clear that only Leonidas truly understood what this meant.

“But,” the boy began, “aren’t those your guards? I’m just a kid.”

Hela felt the urge to lift him into her arms and carry him away, to wrap him in something soft and warm and keep him from all that was terrible in the Nine Realms.

“It is what must be done if you wish to return to your life. I may send my Valkyries wherever I wish them to go. You must dedicate yourself to your training, though. It will not be easy.”

Tony held his chin high, his gaze steady. There was steel to him now, where there had been none before. It almost felt cold and Hela did not like it.

“I need to go home. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do. My dad will be waiting for me.”

Hela barely resisted the urge to snarl. When Howard Stark entered her realm, she would not be kind. She had seen so much that there was little left which could raise her ire and she had always been quicker to mercy and sympathy than anger. Howard Stark had hurt one who belonged to her, though, and would continue to do so after she was forced to send the boy back. That was not something she took lightly, no matter that Howard Stark did not know the offences he made.

“Of course,” she said instead. “We will do everything we can to get you back as quickly as possible. Leonidas and two others will teach you the ways of the Valkyrie. Once you are ready, I shall deem your training over and you will be able to return home.” Her lips thinned. “But it is not so simple as just that, you must understand. If you agree to this, there is no going back. When you return to my realm for the final time, you will take on the mantle of a Valkyrie once again. You will serve on my guard for all of eternity, or until My Lady removes me from my post. There will be no way around this.”

Tony’s nose wrinkled as his face scrunched up, brow furrowing.

“I have to come back?”

Hela couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped her.

“More than most, even. This is the land of the dead, little one. All beings must come here after they die.”

“Well, yeah, but I _already_ died. Do you mean I’m going to die again?”

His honey-brown eyes were huge as he stared up at her.

“When I send you back, I will not be sending you back just as a Valkyrie. You will be returning to your own body. The powers you gain by becoming a Valkyrie, you will not be able to take with you. You will perhaps be a bit more difficult to kill than the average human, but you will not be immortal.”

Tony fidgeted a bit, his hands moving to clench in the fabric of his trousers. He glanced between her and Leonidas quickly before his gaze returned to his lap.

“How…” he trailed off, teeth sinking into his lower lip.

Hela crouched before him, her hand slipping from his hair to take his hands in one of her own. She would have liked to take them with both hands, but that would only make the boy suffer more. Perhaps once he had started his training and the effects of Hela’s touch were lessened.

“You may ask any question that you have, little one. Do not fear.”

Still, he hesitated but his curiosity won out after just a few long moments of silence.

“How long will I be able to stay? At home, I mean. Before I have to come back.”

Hela’s lips thinned. There were rules against telling the living about their fates, but none when it came to the dead. The fact that Tony was going to have to die again put him in an odd in-between of the two factions. He was certainly not alive, but he also would not remain dead. It was a delicate matter, to be sure, and Hela would have to handle it carefully. Good thing she had taken after her father rather than her uncle.

“I cannot give you an exact time,” she hedged, “but you will have many years of life before you return again and I will send you back that time as well.”

Tony’s head snapped up to stare at her.

“I’m not gonna stay dead then, either? Just how many times am I going to have to die?”

“I will only send you back the twice,” Hela spoke gently. “It will be hard enough for me to resist keeping you as it is.”

A light blush dusted itself across the boy’s cheeks and he ducked his head again. Leonidas chuckled.

“When would like for him to begin his training, My Lady?” he asked.

He always called Hela ‘My Lady,’ never ‘My Queen.’ He saved that for his wife and Hela would not begrudge him that. Their love was one that trumped even death. As far as she was concerned, they should have all of the happiness they could get.

“Let him rest for today,” Hela decided as she stood. “I will approach his other teachers and meet you here come evening. It is only a few hours away now. I do not wish to waste time.”

“Of course, My Lady Hela. It is as you wish.”

Hela dipped her brow in the shadow of a nod, ran her flesh hand through the boy’s hair one last time, and then turned to go. She had preparations to make and instructors to choose. Tony should have nothing less than the best to teach him the skills he would need to know and Hela had representatives from all of the Nine Realms at her disposal. Already, she had a few in mind.

The boy would need no instruction in magic, but perhaps Tyrani, the elven huntress, would be of use to him. She was whispish, even for an elf. She was used to fighting those stronger and larger than herself while always coming out on top. Leonidas would be an excellent instructor for discipline and loyalty, not to mention his tactical prowess was impressive even by Hela’s standards. Which left her only needing a third instructor. It would be a difficult choice to make.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's training begins.

“My Lady,” Leonidas greeted, bowing.

Beside him, Tony glanced up before mimicking the move. Hela smiled at them both. Tyrani stood in one of the practice rings, leaning against her spear. She sent and complicated series of hand gestures in the queen’s direction.

“Getting started already, I see. Excellent. We have a lot of ground that needs covering.”

“He has a good mind,” Tyrani praised. “It is sharp and his eyes see much.”

“High praise coming from you,” Hela acknowledged before turning back to Tony. “You will have to train hard, for we must teach you quickly. There is not a lot of time to waste. Delaying your timeline will only hold for so long. We have a week before you must attempt the test to become a Valkyrie. That will be just hours on Midgard for you. After that, your physical body will begin to decay at a faster rate and it will be harder to send you back.”

Judging by the boy’s wide eyes, she perhaps should have left out the bit about his body decaying. He was not the only one staring at her, though.

“A week, My Lady?” Leonidas asked.

“We’ll have to manage.”

“I said his mind was good,” Tyrani, groused, “but he is still so young, My Queen. The test-“

“Is something he would have to weather anyway,” Hela said, allowing reproach to enter her voice. “It is a significantly shorter timeline than we normally have, but we shall have to make it work.”

“Um, I’m sorry, but,” Tony started timidly, “how long do you normally have? I mean, what even is the test? I mean, I’m not so great with the fighting but I can try. If it’s academic I can totally do it, though.”

Hela felt sorry for the poor boy, who clearly wanted to do his best with no real understanding of the situation. She’d seen his life. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Training usually lasts at least a hundred years before an individual faces the test to become a Valkyrie. The nature of the test cannot be revealed to you beforehand, but it is a test of the mind and soul, to see that you are worthy. All else can be learned.”

Tony gulped.

“Oh, well, that’s only longer than my entire projected lifespan. I can totally do that in a week.”

Hela reached out to ruffle his hair.

“I have every faith in you, dear, and that is why I have decided to take a more personal approach to your training. Tyrani and Leonidas will help you in their own ways, and so shall I.”

It had been centuries since the last time she’d actually trained one of her Valkyries herself, but if Tony truly was one of Mistress Death’s favored ones then it was the least she could do. At the very least, she could try to prepare him for what was to come, not only with the test but with the rest of his life. He would suffer greatly, she knew, and she would do all that was in her power to ensure he could handle it. Already, she knew he was impossibly strong for his young age. She only hoped the great destiny that rested upon his shoulders did not break him in the end.

Tony stared up at her with eyes bright with the fascination of youth.

“You’re a warrior queen?” he asked, turning to Leonidas excitedly. “Like Queen Gorgo!”

Hela should have known the Spartan king had been waxing poetic about his wife. He never missed an opportunity to sing her praises, the besotted man.

“Very much so,” she confirmed. “I will leave your warrior training to your other teachers, though. They are quite skilled, I assure you. There are other things I would like to focus on in my own lessons with you.”

“Like what?”

Hela smiled again as she held her flesh hand out for him to take.

“Come, I will show you.”

It warmed her heart to see him place his hand in hers without hesitation. There were not many who would do such. Her appearance and position did not afford her a great amount of automatic trust, much less the chance to show her own softness. She had responsibilities to keep up with, and never enough time to spend with her subjects.

She guided Tony over to the practice ring that had been marked out in the sand, Tyrani moving to give them the space and heading over to stand with Leonidas. Around them, Hela’s other warriors trained on their own or in pairs or groups. She sat down in the sand with Tony across from her as an Eldrich being threw Joan of Arc into Sigurd, the first hero of Asgard.

“So is this, like, meditating or something?”

Tony sounded skeptical, but settled into a cross-legged sitting position anyway, game to give it a try.

“Not exactly. I wish to speak to you.”

“Um, okay?”

“When new souls come to my realm, I peer into their minds so that I may get them where they need to go. I know everything about every one of my subjects. I peered into your mind, as well. That is how I knew your name. I know a great many things about you.”

“Like what?” Tony asked, appearing both discomforted and curious at the same time.

Hela gave him a smile of reassurance.

“I know that you are a kind boy who would do anything to help another, but that it’s a trait that has been turned against you on more than one occasion. I know about the time when you were four years old and tried to climb that apple tree to pick one for Jarvis’s birthday, and how you broke your arm when you fell. I know about you father’s temper and your desperation to make him proud. You are a fine boy, Tony, and you will grow into a good man.”

“I keep thinking I’m going to stop being amazed by things here but it hasn’t happened yet,” he confessed.

“Midgard is a limited realm,” Hela allowed. “I am sure it is more jarring for you than most.”

“So you, like, read my mind, or something?”

“I delved into it. Reading a mind gains only what it on the surface. What I did went much deeper. It was necessary, though. You carry a great destiny upon your shoulders, Tony Stark. That is why you must go back instead of staying here.”

“Is that what you wanted to talk about, then?”

He was a perceptive boy, that was for sure.

“In a way. One with a destiny so great as yours will bring with it great trials that you must be ready to handle. You will need to rise above a great many things, like a bird in flight.”

Tony wiggled in his seat.

“Like a phoenix, coming back from the dead,” he said eagerly, leaning toward her in his excitement. “Leonidas said you have those here, that there are some who _live_ here.”

There was no way he could have hidden his fascination and glee if he’d been trying.

“Would you like to meet one?”

The boy nearly toppled over as he scrambled up on his knees.

“Are you serious? I can?”

“If you would like.”

“Then yes! Totally yes!”

Hela nodded, the weight of her antlers dragging her forward before she righted herself.

“Then I will see to it that it happens before you leave our company. The phoenixes do not often travel outside of Helheim, but they are known throughout all the realms. One will travel with you when you return to your realm.”

“I think you might be the nicest person I’ve ever met,” Tony managed, clearly awestruck.

Hela knew she should tell him, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to, not in the face of his hopeful gaze.

“I truly am not, but thank you for the kind words. Your Edwin Jarvis is quite impressive in that regard, though. I enjoyed getting to know him through your eyes. He, too, is a very good man.”

Tony beamed with pride, going for far as to puff his little chest out.

“Jarvis is the _best_. I never would have been kidnapped if he’d been home.”

“You should never lose sight of what makes your Jarvis so great,” she advised. “When you return, ask him why he does things as he does. Watch how he behaves with others. Find others like him and model yourself in their image. These are the people you can learn the most from, not men like your father.”

“But Jarvis isn’t as smart as my dad. How can I learn more from him?”

“Not everything you must learn has to do with being smart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. I've neglected this fic for ages. I'm so sorry and I promise it will not happen again. I got too many works going on at the same time and had to set a few aside so I could finish others and whittle down the number. I have officially gone from 15 on-going fics to 7 and have a couple more very close to the end. Woo! This means I can now pick some of these neglected fics back up again. My apologies for the delay.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony prepares for his test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I just want to prep everyone that there's been a PoV shift for this chapter and it will continue for another chapter past this. Just a heads up.

Tony thought his training was going well. At least, he hoped it was. This was the last day he had before his test. It _seemed_ like it was going well. Of course, he couldn’t really be certain, but Queen Hela and the others seemed pleased. Leonidas had even shown him an extra-cool move with a sword the other day and that was _awesome_. Tony had informed him that he was going to start carrying around a sword all the time so that he wouldn’t ever get kidnapped again. Tyrani had cut in by catching him around the waist and tossing him high into the air, much to his delight. She had told him that no cage would ever be able to hold him so long as his spirit remained free.

Some of the other Valkyries had stopped by to observe their training, too, during the five days that Tony trained. Tony was fascinated by them. There were Frost Giants and Fire Dwarves and people that didn’t even look like _people_ , but had extra appendages or were covered in fur or scales or could shift their form into a different one. Tony wished he could spend a lifetime getting to know every detail of their different worlds. There wasn’t the time to really talk to them now, though, and Tony had to get home. Maybe he’d get to learn more about them on his next visit, like Hela had said, before he died for good.

The only ‘breaks’ that came in his training were when they sat down to talk strategy or when Queen Hela came around to talk more about her moralistic ‘hippy-nonsense’, as Tony was sure his dad would call it. Tony kind of liked it, though. He wanted to be the kind of person that the Queen talked about. He wanted to make the right choices for _everyone_. He loved Leonidas’s talks about brothers in arms, too, and Tyrani’s about the entire village being one family at heart.

The rest of time was spent learning how to fight, with his fists, with a sword, with a spear. Tony had known how to use a gun for years, but he learned quickly that these other, simpler weapons were far more difficult to control. When he’d mentioned as much to Leonidas, the older warrior nodded sagely.

“As time moved forward,” he said, “there were more people and more wars. There needed to be more soldiers and they needed to be more effective. So the Realms developed weapons that any simpleton could use with minimal training. The dark elves of Svartalfheim used that strategy and it cost them dearly. A _true_ warrior will always triumph in the end. There can be no discipline when the time is not taken to properly learn war and battle in the first place.”

It worried Tony immensely, since he was not exactly taking the time needed to learn everything. Leonidas had already mentioned that, had they the time, some of the moves Tony was doing would take him months of practice before he would be allowed to move on and learn others, so as to know he missed nothing.

“You are learning just the beginning of the basics here,” Tyrani told him. “That is all. What you are learning most has nothing to do with the forms or the moves themselves. These weapons are not yours. They will be of no use to you in your test, nor in the life you must return to. It is the lessons _behind_ them that you must retain and it will be up to you to keep them in your mind as you return to your life so you do not _lose_ your training.”

“But _how?_ ” Tony pressed. “You guys aren’t returning with me, are you?”

He knew they weren’t, but that didn’t stop the little spark of hope in his chest.

“I’m afraid not, little one,” Queen Hela said as she arrived. “There is no place for us in your world and we have duties to fulfill here. Your continued learning will not be by our hands. Do you remember our conversation about your Jarvis?”

Tony nodded quickly.

“Of course. You said I should watch him to see how he does things and why.”

The queen smiled at him, and Tony couldn’t help smiling back. He could actually _see_ the pleased pride in her eyes and it warmed his chest. No one had ever looked like that while looking at him before, not even Jarvis. Jarvis was proud of him, of course, but it was always tinged with sadness.

“Precisely. That is how your lessons will continue. It is through watching the people around you that you will learn about the man you _wish_ to become and what it takes to be that person. We are giving you the tools, little one, but it will be your responsibility to make something great with them.”

A shy smile blossomed across Tony’s face. He wanted to make Queen Hela proud of him, to prove to her that he was everything she believed him to be. He wanted to show her that her faith in him was justified.

“I _am_ pretty good at making things,” he said, pleased to see her smile at him in return.

“And I have no doubts you will wow and mesmerize us all. Now, are you ready for your test?”

Tony pulled at his fingers, worrying them as he tried to project confidence like his dad. It didn’t work out so well.

“No,” he finally confessed, “but I’m not sure I’ll ever really feel ready.”

Her regal nod, barely more than a tip of the head weighed down by her antlers, was full of understanding not judgement.

“There is no shame in that,” she told him, “and it is good that you can know it of yourself. There are beings many times your age without that same self-knowledge.”

“Well, I _did_ have good teachers.”

Leonidas laughed heartily and ruffled his hair.

“That you did, boy. Now, chin up, eyes alert. Vigilance.”

“You are more ready than you believe,” Tyrani contributed. “It is important not to let overconfidence blind you, but not having enough confidence in yourself can be just as crippling. Remember, no blow can be struck effectively if you do not put your heart into it.”

Tony sobered quickly, his expression turning serious. He _had_ to pass this test, not only to make them proud but so that he could go home. Hela was holding his timeline, so as long as he made it through testing now it would have only been a few hours since he’d died. Still, his dad was going to be angry enough as it was.

“I’ll do my best.”

“No more could be asked of you,” the queen said serenely. “Come, we will walk to the testing chambers together.”

The testing chambers, Tony knew, were deep in the heart of the palace. It was a sacred place, only used for this ceremony. He marveled as he entered the room with Queen Hela, his small hand held in her flesh one. The river rocks that make up the floor shifted beneath his feet, cool and damp, while the walls of pale-washed stone climbed high above. There was no clear transition between the walls and the ceiling, but great stalactites hung down overhead. More than one drop of water fell on Tony’s head as they walked towards the center of the room.

Leonidas and Tyrani followed after them, and more Valkyrie from the training field behind. They stayed close to the walls, forming a neat line before growing two, then three deep. All sorts of beings crossing into the large chamber, all silent, heads bowed in respect. As each one stepped over the threshold, ethereal wings sprouted from their backs. Tony watched with wide eyes as Leonidas stretched his large, three-tiered wings, while Tyrani kept hers tucked in close. They stayed separate from the other Valkyrie, trailing perhaps ten feet behind and holding the distance.

Queen Hela released his hand as they reached the center of the room, a modest stalagmite rising from the floor and only reaching up to Tony’s waist in height. It was the only spot in the room that was broken from the river rocks. The queen stepped around the rock formation to stand opposite from Tony, gesturing for him to stay put. She watched as the last of the Valkyrie took their place. Tony was nervous about the number of onlookers, though he knew this was a mere fraction of the number of Valkyries under Queen Hela’s command. These were just the elites, her officers and personal guard.

“Today,” the queen’s voice rang out through the chamber, echoing faintly, “we gather to witness the testing of Anthony Edward Stark of Terra, Earth, in Midgard. Should he pass this test, he will join the ranks of the Helheim’s Valkyrie and stand beside each and every one of you as an equal, a brother. Who here will accept him?”

There were rousing cries of acceptance from every member of the crowd. The cacophony of it was so loud that Tony nearly stumbled. Queen Hela’s lips twitched in a small smile as she raised her hands to silence them.

“Anthony Edward Stark,” she began again, turning to him, “should you pass the test this day, will you take your place among the Valkyrie and accept them as your fellows?”

“I will,” Tony recited, as he’d been coached to. “Nothing would please me more, My Queen.”

“Will you accept your duties as a Valkyrie to serve under my command, in the service of the Final Mistress, to preserve the balance?”

“I will. Any and all that you ask will be my pleasure to fulfill.”

“Do you accept that your heart and soul will be judged this day, in their entirety, and that judgement will be final? There can be no turning back. Once you are a Valkyrie, you will always be a Valkyrie. Though your case is a unique one, there can be no changing that.”

Tony hesitated for a moment, nerves stilling his tongue, though not fear.

“I accept,” he managed to get out past uncooperative lips. Then added, since she’d gone off script, too, “Never have I even heard of a place like this. I shall gladly call it my home in the end.”

Once he’d died a few more times, apparently.

“Very well, then,” Queen Hela acknowledged, “let your test begin.”

She held her hand out for him to take, extending it across the stalagmite, but it was not the flesh hand she was always so careful to touch him with. It was the hand from her other half, blackened and tough as leather, pulled tight and twisted. He’d asked about it once, why she was so careful with it, and had received cautionary words of death to any living being and waking nightmares to even those already dead. He swallowed roughly.

“Do not be afraid,” Hela murmured to him, voice low.

“Of you?” Tony asked, his nerves easing. “Never.”

And then he placed his hand in hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna shamelessly ask for comments here real quick because I'm having a really shitty day and it looks like my grandfather will be going to go see Hela here before too long. I could use a pick-me-up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony takes his test.

“There you are. I’ve been waiting.”

Tony spun around, trying to take everything in. His attention was drawn to a figure just a few feet away, though. Despite being completely obscured by a black shroud, he was almost certain that she was a woman. They both stood at the top of a hill, fog obscuring the land in all directions. A white tree, barren of all leaves, stood on the woman’s other side.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

He’d always been taught that was rude. His father, more than anyone else, _hated_ being kept waiting. This woman didn’t seem very perturbed by it.

“You could not have come sooner,” she said. “It matters little. Time will outlast even me. There is plenty of it.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Mistress Death. These are my lands.”

Tony gaped at her, suddenly filled with awe.

“You’re Queen Hela’s Queen…”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I am her Mistress. I appointed her to her position and she looks after the dead so that I may turn my attentions elsewhere.”

“Wow… That’s so cool… Leonidas talked about you, a little bit. He said he’s never met you.”

“Not many have, Tony Stark. I rarely choose to reveal myself to others.”

Tony fidgeted, growing nervous at her words.

“So then what are you doing here now? Queen Hela said that I’m supposed to be taking a test.”

“The Trials of the Valkyrie,” Mistress Death intoned. “Yes, they are indeed why you are here. They are different for everyone. For you, I will be the one to administer your trial. I wished to see you for myself.”

“But why? Is it because Queen Hela plans to send me back? I’m still allowed to go, right?”

“Peace. You will still be allowed to leave this realm. I wished to see you because I have waited so long to, more time than you could possibly imagine. The time I will know you will be but a blink of an eye to a being such as myself.”

“Queen Hela said she was over a _thousand_ ,” Tony confided to her. It was still so astounding to think that there were races out there that lived so long. “How old are you?”

“I do not have an age, for Death has been a part of existence for as long as Life. Hela is but a child to me, though. She seems scantly older than you, in comparison to how long I have been a part of the cycle.”

Tony gaped at her.

“But she’s, like, _ancient_.”

Mistress Death’s head tilted to the side as she considered him.

“One day,” she said, in a tone that made it seem as if she were confiding in him, “you will not be so bound by your mortal conceptions. She will not seem so ancient then.”

“You mean, like, after I die? Again?”

He had to tack that last bit on hastily, having nearly forgotten that he was already dead. It was surprisingly easy. He certainly didn’t _feel_ dead.

“Once you join the Valkyrie for good,” Mistress Death informed him. “But you will never do that If you do not take your trial.”

Tony sobered.

“Yes, of course,” he said, drawing himself up as tall as he could. “What do I need to do?”

She examined him from behind her shroud for a long moment.

“You must make a choice.”

That… hadn’t been what he was expecting.

“What kind of choice? If it’s if I want to go back, I’m pretty sure I’ve already answered that. I _have_ to go back.”

“You have answered whether or not you _will_ go back, though not whether or not you want to,” she said, as if there was any difference. “That is not the choice you will be asked to make now, though. What you must decide, is whether or not to take someone back with you.”

Her face, though he still wasn’t able to make it out, turned away towards the fog. Tony looked, too, and it took him only a moment to make out a figure moving toward them. Whoever it was, they were tall and broad-shouldered.

“Who is _that_?”

The figure kept moving closer, becoming clearer as he, it was definitely a he, approached. Light, filtering through the fog, started to reveal vague details. It looked almost as if he were in some sort of costume, a mask covering the top half of his face. Tony sucked in a sharp breath when he recognized the ‘A’ on the mask’s forehead.

“This,” Mistress Death spoke pleasantly, “is someone you know well already, though you have never met him. Many souls are here, after all. Steve Rogers died before his time, crashing that plane into the Arctic of your world. He wasn’t meant to die then, though. There was… interference. Will you take him back with you?”

Tony could hardly believe it. _The_ Captain America. His dad had been looking for Captain America for _ages_. If _this_ didn’t make him proud, Tony didn’t know what would. He turned back to Mistress Death quickly, mouth open to give his assent to the easiest question of his life, only for her to hold up one shrouded, skeletal hand.

“Think carefully before you give your response,” she cautioned him. “Have you considered all the angles?"

Tony paused, then frowned.

Howard idolized Captain America, of course he would want to have the hero back. More than just that, the world needed men like Steve Rogers. Tony’s dad had always said so. Even with World War II over, it wasn’t like there weren’t more wars to fight. There was the threat of the Russians, of course, and the Vietnam War had only just ended a few years ago. There’d be other wars, too. Captain America would make a huge difference in them.

Even if he didn’t fight, science had come a long way since WWII. His dad would talk at least once a week about how he’d have been able to save the Captain if he’d had access to the technology he had today. With the Captain there, his dad could probably even be able to recreate the serum and make _more_ super soldiers. Erskine’s secret couldn’t stay secret forever, after all. His dad didn’t think so, but that was only because he felt like no other soldier could handle the serum the way the Captain did… Maybe that was right. If the code could be cracked, though, then at least they’d have a _chance_.

It didn’t seem like there were any downsides to the offer of bringing Steve Rogers back to Earth, at least not at first.

Then Tony thought about the glazed look in his father’s eyes whenever he started drinking, or _continued_ drinking, and got on the topic of the war. It didn’t even have to be Captain America specifically, it would get to him eventually. Once his dad got started, though, it was like Tony didn’t even exist anymore. Sometimes it was the only way Tony could have his dad talking to him without it being a lecture on Tony’s most recent failure.

If suddenly Rogers was back, would his dad even look at Tony at all? Would he be proud of Tony for bringing the Captain back or proud of the Captain for _making_ it back? Would his dad even notice that Tony came back with him? He wanted to think so, of course he did, but somehow… Tony was just not sure.

Captain Rogers had made it the rest of the way through the fog, climbing the hill to stand before the two of them. He gazed at Tony, though it wasn’t unkindly. It seemed almost… vacant. Tony frowned.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Ah, you noticed. It takes a toll on a soul to be kept in this realm without a place. I am keeping him as protected as I can, which is what leaves him in the state you see him in now. Even if he is sent back, he will remember nothing of this time. When you go back, your soul will open a window off of this realm. That window would allow his soul to be easily sent back. It is your choice, though. If you decide you do not wish him to accompany you, I will release him to this realm so that he may finally rest in peace. What shall it be, my merchant? Shall he return to the stress and toil of your world or shall he become one of Hela’s charges?”

That… was another way to look at it. Tony hadn’t thought about it like that. Captain America had already been through one war, and the Great Depression. That was some serious stuff. Granted, he was _Captain America_ , but still… Tony had met enough veterans to know it would have taken a toll.

He bit his lip.

“What… What does he want? Captain Rogers, I mean. Does he want to go back?”

“Does it matter?”

Tony sputtered.

“Of course it matters! He’s a person!”

He got the distinct impression that Mistress Death was smiling at him.

“So he is.”

“So it should be his choice, not mine.”

“He has made his choice.”

Which could mean that he’d chosen to go back, since Mistress Death was asking Tony at all. Or it could mean that he didn’t since he’d chosen to put the plane down in the first place. This whole thing was so _confusing_. But… Tony couldn’t imagine Captain America ever _not_ wanting to help people. It was one of the things Tony had always liked most about his dad’s stories. And if that were true, then...

“He’d want to go back, I think,” Tony said, swallowing roughly. He hoped his dad would be proud, instead of the alternative, but in the end, it only mattered that he was doing the right thing. Like Leonidas leading his men to face the Persian army. Their sacrifice was far greater than any Tony could ever make. “So if I can help, then I will.”

A wave of her hand had the soul of Steve Rogers disappearing as if blown away by the wind.

“Then so it shall be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure exactly how many more chapters there will be. I'm still thinking about 10, but we'll see how that holds. I'm going to be focusing on this fic exclusively until I get in done. I'm expecting maybe a week or two at most?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hela makes a realization and Tony doesn't need Red Bull to give him wings.

Hela watched the boy closely as he blinked his eyes open, swaying dangerously and kept upright only by his hand in hers. She smiled as his honey-colored eyes focused on her and he steadied himself.

“Congratulations,” she said, “little Valkyrie.”

His face lit up, his wings fluttering behind him. He tilted his head to look at them, eyes popping wide with wonder. He had never looked so young to her as he did in that moment.

“I-I did it? I passed?” He looked around as if searching for someone, his hand pulling out of hers as he did. “But… where’s Captain Rogers?”

“A vision from your trial?” she guessed. He wouldn’t be the first. Everyone saw something different, experienced something different. The transition could be difficult, disorienting. “You needn’t worry about it. This cavern is meant to find the trial that is most suited for you. That is all you saw.”

The boy frowned, looking down.

“But… it all seemed so real,” he said. “She said she wanted to send him back with me. Does that mean he’s not going to come back?”

“I did not see your trial. Only you were witness to it. It was just a vision, though.”

There was a hint of hesitation as he nodded, then grinned.

“But I did it! Thank you!”

He threw himself forward, barely avoiding the stalagmite, and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Hela froze, feeling the skin of Tony’s arm pressed against her decaying flesh. She waited for him to fling himself back, for his mind to be consumed by the nightmares the contact would induce. He only pressed his face into her abdomen. The trials were an exception, since the visions were tied to the dark magic that coursed through that half of her body.

“Tony?”

His arms tightened around her just a bit more.

“I just… I really appreciate it and I’m gonna miss you a lot, all of you.”

No sign at all that he was being plagued by horrifying images. It was… unprecedented. She understood that it was the boy’s excitement that made him forget himself and grab her. Perhaps he even thought it would be okay since he’d taken her hand for the trial. This was not how it should have worked, though. Hela extracted her arms gently and took Tony by the shoulders to move him back. She brushed his cheek with her dead hand but he didn’t even flinch.

“How is this possible?” she marveled. “Do you see nothing when I touch you?”

Tony’s confusion only seemed to grow, his eyes darting to her blackened skin.

“Am I supposed to? I thought-I see a bit of darkness? On the edges of my vision? I dunno, I can’t really focus on it.”

There were murmurs throughout the room, and Hela could not blame them their restlessness even in this sacred place. They might have been dead, but that didn’t mean they were cold and unaffected. Not even Hela’s own father could touch that side of her without effects. Her own mother refused to hold her as a baby, calling her a monster. No one had ever touched that side of her without suffering for it.

“Oh, but you are something special, aren’t you? She did say you were one of hers.”

There was another flicker of confusion before she could see Tony connect the dots.

“Mistress Death,” he said, as if testing it out. “She said she wanted to meet me, since she had spent so long waiting for me already. But that was for the trial, so I guess it wasn’t real? I just imagined her?”

Hela had not felt so thrown in a great many years.

“You saw Mistress Death?”

“Yeah, kinda. I mean, she was shrouded so I couldn’t really _see_ her but she was there.”

“Where? Where did you see her?”

“Um, we were on a hill,” he said, “and there was fog all around it and a white tree with no leaves. Captain Rogers came out of the fog when she asked me to choose.”

“She brought you into her domain,” Hela murmured, more to herself than to Tony. “I do believe, little one, that your trials were more real than I believed.”

“So Captain Rogers _will_ be coming back?”

“That is a question I cannot answer for you. I would like to speak to you about your trial, but that can wait, I think. For now, perhaps you would enjoy learning how to use your new appendages?”

Tony’s wings fluttered with excitement and it was impossible for Hela not to respond to his beaming smile.

“You mean I’ll actually be able to fly?”

His excitement could not have been more clear and Leonidas all but jumped forward at a glance from Hela.

“What point would there be in having wings if you couldn’t use them?” he asked. “There is a reason the ceiling of this chamber is so high. Come, I will show you the basics and we will see how far you can get.”

He took Tony’s hand and began to guide him away, into the more open space of the chamber. As if responding to a silent command, the other Valkyrie along the wall began to funnel out of the room. Only a few hung back and they, along with Tyrani, headed straight for Hela’s side.

“My Queen,” the elf greeted.

“This changes things,” Hela told them, watching Tony closely. “Do you remember when my grandmother came to visit?”

“I was still in training then. I knew of her visit, but nothing else. It was short, wasn’t it?”

Hela hummed her agreement.

“She wished to keep it hidden from my grandfather. Odin has never liked it when she travels away from Asgard.”

Gunda’shrk shifted colors, showing his displeasure with the light show beneath his gel-like skin.

“You aren’t wrong,” Hela agreed with him, “but his practices are not what concern us now. When Queen Frigga came to me, she spoke of something she had seen in one of her visions. The Norns had sent her news of someone who would be vitally important.”

“Someone with a great destiny,” Kalbisa contributed, her scowl made all the more prominent by the scars across her face. “You believe she was speaking of the boy.”

“I hadn’t,” Hela admitted, “not until now. Too many things make sense for it to be mere coincidence, though. I should have suspected it from the moment he passed into this domain, but I did not even consider the possibility.”

A pale-yellow color bloomed in Gunda’shrk’s abdomen and spread outward to push aside the darker blues and purples that had been there previously. Hela shook her head, not wanting his platitudes even though he was never one for senseless comfort.

“It hardly matters for now, but the things he will grow to do will affect us _all_.”

Kalbisa eyed her warily. She’d been in Hela’s service longer than most, though. She knew how to read the queen’s tone. This wasn’t self-doubt or reprimand. This was Hela being truly shaken and that wasn’t something easy to do.

“What would you have us do?”

Hela’s gaze drifted back to where Tony was fluttering his wings and getting nowhere fast. Leonidas was laughing raucously at his efforts.

“There is nothing for us to do, except perhaps to continue doing what we have been. It is Tony himself who will have to do the hard work, or not.”

“What is coming, My Queen?” Tyrani asked.

“War,” Hela breathed, her eyes fluttering shut before she snapped them open again and steeled herself, “unlike any we have ever seen. It will be the end of all things, the destruction of every realm. Not even the dead will be safe.”

The tension was instant, as clear in Kalbisa and Tyrani’s body language as it was in Gunda’shrk flushing a violent orange.

“And Tony will bring it?” Tyrani pressed.

Her voice betrayed her attempts to reconcile that thought with the Tony she had grown to know over the past week. Hela could appreciate how inconceivable it must seem. She probably would react the same. That was the kind of effect Tony had on people.

“No,” she assured. “Tony will not bring it.”

“Then who will?”

Here, Hela felt her heart clench. It was an act of will to force the next words past her lips.

“My father, and Tony is our only hope of stopping it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys! It's confirmed! Two more chapters until this fic is done! We're almost there!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony takes flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors. Only one of my betas has gotten a chance to look at this so far. I'm just impatient and greedy for comments. lol I'll update when I get the final edits back.

Hela made the decision that Tony shouldn’t be told. He would find out his fate eventually but the future of the Nine Realms was too great a burden to place upon the shoulders of one so young. He should be allowed to be a child, as much as he could be in the house of Howard Stark. Hela was not going to take that away from him.

Her heart ached as she watched the boy fly around the cavern, taking to his wings as naturally as any of her Valkyrie ever had. Only those who had been born to winged species had picked flight up quicker. The joy on his face as he swooped through the air spoke of freedom. She did not want to send him back and cause him to lose that joy. She knew what awaited him at home.

She held her hands out toward the child, smiling as he fluttered down to her and placed both hands in hers so she could guide him gently to the ground once more. He beamed at her.

“You have improved a great deal, little one. I see Leonidas is proving to be a fine teacher as always.”

He let go of her to do a little spin, his wings nearly lifting him right off the ground all over again.

“These are amazing! I’ve always wanted to fly!”

“There is certainly an appeal to it,” Hela allowed. “Time stretches on, though, and we must get you home before more of it passes.”

The boy sobered quickly. Doubtlessly he remembered her warnings about what would happen to his body if they waited too long to send him back.

“Of course. What do I need to do?”

Leonidas touched down not far away and shared a look with the queen. Hela knew he would take Tony into his home with his wife in a heartbeat. She would not blame him for it.

“Do you remember asking me about the phoenixes who live here?”

His face lit up.

“Of course!”

“Good. It’s time I kept my promise about letting you meet one.”

Hela led him out of the chamber, his wings vanishing as they stepped over the threshold. She pretended not to notice the way he kept looking back over his shoulder. Leonidas and Tyrani trailed behind them. They would see their boy off. For the dead, his absence would be a short time, but that made the parting no less bitter. For him, it would feel much longer.

They passed through the corridors of Hela’s palace in somber silence. It was rare that the queen would encounter anyone within her walls, but now the path was lined with warriors. They stood at attention, an honor guard to send the boy on his way. It reminded Hela once again of why she prized her Valkyries so highly. It was about far more than just fighting ability.

Tony’s grip on her hand tightened as they descended the steps into the palace courtyard. Souls entered at the far end, many still disoriented from their trip. Ferrymen rounded them up as they were sorted, loading them onto their ships to take them to their final resting places. Tony hadn’t been back here since Hela had found him collapsed on the steps. He never would have seen it. Her eyes drifted to the four figures sorting through the souls and sending them toward their respective ferries.

“Have you met Thanatos and the Keres?” she asked, even though she knew his answer already.

“No. Should I have?”

“I suppose not. You’ve been quite busy since your arrival. Thanatos and his sisters keep everything organized. We have spoken before about how not all souls wind up in the same place.”

“Right, like how those who die in battle go to Valhalla.”

“Precisely. I am glad you remember our lessons so clearly. These four are the ones who determine where the souls are to go. They are utterly invaluable to me. Without them, I would have to act as a conduit for every soul that passed through my gates and that is a messy business. It would be far too easy to blur the lines, if you will.”

“What do you mean?”

Hela considered for a moment how best to explain it. She had not had cause to for a very long time.

“When I open myself as a conduit, it allows that soul access to _my_ soul,” she settled on, though it was not quite so simple as that. “With many souls, that wouldn’t be a problem, but a soul that is powerful enough could have influence over me. I am very attuned to every being that passes into my realm and the most powerful ones call to me even more. Like you, little one, and your great destiny.”

Tony worried his bottom lip with his teeth.

“I still don’t-“ he cut himself off abruptly before starting over. “I don’t know how I’m going to make that happen. I’m not that great.”

Hela pulled him to a stop, dropping down to one knee and cupping his face between her hands. She waited for Tony to meet her gaze and hold it.

“You _are_ great, Anthony Edward Stark, and it has nothing to do with your destiny. You will not make your destiny happen because you’re destined to, you will make it happen because you are _you_. You have this destiny because it is what you will do. A destiny is not meant to shape those who have it, though it can. A destiny is just a piece of the future, that is all. You are the one who makes it possible.”

She wasn’t entirely sure he understood her. She could still see the doubt in his eyes.

“I just want to be good enough,” he confessed softly.

At the other end of the courtyard, a radiant bird crested the wall, soaring towards them. Hela pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead.

“You are, little one. I swear to you, you are.”

But there was time for no more than that, as the bird touched down beside them. Its feathers were resplendent in hues of ruby red and orange, shining with a light that came from within. Its head cocked to the side a bit as it watched them, cooing softly.

“Wow,” Tony breathed, cleared awed. “It’s beautiful…”

Hela smiled softly at him, heart breaking just a little bit.

“She will be your guide along the pathways back to your world,” the queen said, taking Tony’s hands once more and squeezing them gently as his wings once more sprouted from his back. “She will make sure you get there safely.”

Tony was still staring at the bird in wonder. He dipped his head a little bit.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

The bird drew a few steps closer, eyeing him.

“Remember what you have learned here, Tony. You may forget us, with time, but never forget the lessons we have taught you.”

This, at least, drew his attention back to her.

“I don’t think I could ever forget any of you.”

Oh, how Hela wished that were true.

“You would be surprised,” she told him, “how quickly reality can seem a dream when you are back among what is familiar. Sometimes things we are certain of begin to seem too fantastical to believe.” Tony opened his mouth to protest, but she shushed him. “For now you must go, though. Use those wings of yours and fly. Do not stop until you have reached your home.”

She was speaking about more than just returning to the realm of his birth, but he didn’t need to know that. She watched as his lip began to quiver and he gave a little sniffle.

“I’m gonna miss you,” he mumbled, then turned toward Leonidas and Tyrani. “I’m gonna miss all of you.”

The elf moved forward to scoop him up into the air, holding him high.

“And we will miss you, but we will always be with you as well. You will have us at your side in all things.”

Leonidas grinned as she set the boy down and reached out to ruffle his hair.

“When you return for the final time, I will be proud to know that you are the warrior standing beside me,” he said seriously. “I am no less proud of you now than I will be then.”

Tony’s eyes glistened dangerously and he swiped at them with a fist. He sniffled again, loudly.

“Can I tell you guys a secret?”

“Of course,” Hela allowed.

The boys throat worked as he swallowed several times.

“I wish I didn’t have to go back,” he near-whispered, and Hela felt her heart break.

She knelt again and pulled the boy into a hug, foregoing all decorum.

“I wish you didn’t, either,” she confessed.

Several long minutes passed before she was able to bring herself to release him. She stepped away as the phoenix stepped closer.

“I will be watching over you,” she promised, as they both spread their wings. “You will never be alone. You have my word.”

Tony looked like he wanted to say more, but the phoenix took off before he could and the boy had to scramble to follow. Their bodies blurred into silhouettes as they rose higher and higher before turning into nothing but black dots and finally disappearing completely. The queen remained in her courtyard long after she could no longer see them, a heavy ache in her chest. She had been selfish. She should have told him.

The phoenix would not survive the journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter to go! It's already written so I plan to post probably around the end of the week.


	10. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tiny Tony takes flight for the last time in decades.

The journey seemed to take forever, and Tony marveled at the fact that he didn’t get tired. Of course, he knew already that the dead didn’t need rest. He hadn’t slept since he’d first woken up in Queen Hela’s lap. Leonidas had assured him that they could still be knocked out, but they didn’t need rest. Even with all of the physical training he had been through, Tony hadn’t tired. The same couldn’t be said for the phoenix guiding him.

It’d taken a while, sure, but Tony could see how she was beginning to falter. She glided more often than she flapped and her pace had slowed steadily over the past couple of hours. The glow of her feathers had dimmed a bit, too, Tony thought, though he couldn’t be quite sure.

“A-are you alright?” he asked, though he couldn’t be sure if she even understood him. “We can take a break, if you want.”

He wasn’t sure _where_ , of course. He hadn’t seen anything actually _solid_ since they’d flown away from the castle, but still. He wanted to make the offer. Maybe she knew of a place. She was the guide after all. He knew they were trying to beat the clock where he was concerned, but surely a short break wouldn’t hurt.

The phoenix floated closer so that her wing tips brushed against his and cooed softly. She even sounded tired.

“Really,” he tried again, “I don’t mind.”

But she just flew on.

He grew more and more concerned as time passed. Her feathers were _definitely_ dimming, now that he was watching for it. They were clumping up, too, becoming slick and shiny like they were wet. Tony was pretty sure birds didn’t sweat, but maybe phoenixes did? He wished he’d asked more questions about them.

He tried to stop at one point, when he saw the first feather fall out, but that had sent the phoenix into quite a tizzy. She’d beat at him with her wings until he started moving again. After that, the feathers fell more rapidly. Tony didn’t know what to do.

“Can I carry you?” he offered, feeling the panic rising up inside of him. “Please, I just want to help!”

She wouldn’t let him carry her, though, and just forged onward. The dank grey they were flying through, darkness kept at bay by her glow, started giving way to lighter surroundings. Tony still couldn’t make out much of anything, but he hoped it meant they were getting closer to their destination. He wanted her to be able to rest. He didn’t think she’d be able to make it much longer.

The filtered, foggy light grew steadily brighter, though, and the phoenix continued to surprise him by pushing on longer and longer. They must have flown for hours more until something finally appeared in the distance. It was hard to make out across such a distance, but Tony felt himself put on a burst of speed, excited to get there. At the very least it would be a place to rest.

As they drew closer, Tony began to make out the form of a tree, bare of any leaves and stark white. It looked almost exactly like the one that had stood on the crest of Mistress Death’s hill when he’d seen her during his trials. Somehow, though, he didn’t think this tree was the same. It seemed different somehow, though Tony wouldn’t have been able to say whether it was the position of the branches or the texture of the bark… it was just different.

The phoenix made a beeline for it, too. She settled into a crook of two branches near the top of the tree. Tony was relieved. She finally got to rest.

“What do we do now?” he asked, even though he wasn’t really expecting a response. She hadn’t responded any of the other times he’d talked to her, at least not with words. “Not that I’m trying to rush you, or anything. Please, take as long as you want to rest. Just, are we waiting for something?”

The phoenix adjusted how her wings were tucked into her sides a bit and settled down further. Tony supposed that settled that. They’d be staying for at least a little while. He looked around for a place to land, but he couldn’t see any actual _ground_. He didn’t want to land on one of the branches, either. They didn’t look like they’d support his weight.

He settled for just hovering off to the side of the tree like a nervous hummingbird. It felt rather awkward, truthfully. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing with himself and he’d certainly never been any good at staying idle. His mind drifted back to his talks with Queen Hela, where they would just sit and converse for hours on end.

It was odd for an adult to give him that kind of attention and yet Queen Hela had seemed almost _glad_ to give it to him. She had an entire realm to run and yet she took out time for him the entire time he was there. Leonidas and Tyrani, too, had seemed happy to give him their attention. Only Jarvis had ever done that for Tony before. A few of his teachers had tried, granted, but they had too many other kids to take care of to really pay attention to him. Besides, it was frustrating that they had to keep coming up with new material for him because he learned so quickly. He understood that.

Things had just been… really nice here, was all. Tony was going to miss it. He was going to miss _them_. He wished he’d gotten a chance to get to know Mistress Death a bit more, too. She’d seemed pretty nice, in her own way. And there were all the other Valkyrie, too. _Hundreds_ of them. And all those different _species_!

Tony was drawn from his thoughts by the smell of something burning. His focus immediately zeroed in on the tree and where the phoenix was perched in its branches. Smoke was rising from beneath her in little tendrils and the first flames were beginning to scorch the white bark. Tony let out a startled yelp as he sprang forward, reaching for the bird.

“No, stop! What are you doing?”

He didn’t even think about what might happen to him as he reached for her, intent on pulling her out of the flames. He certainly didn’t anticipate the flames coiling around his wrist and then _reaching up his arm._

There was a yank as he felt himself being pulled forward into the flames. He screamed and fought it, even though there wasn’t yet any of the pain he anticipated. Panic overtook his mind. He didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t know what to _do_. His eyes were glued to the phoenix, who had her head thrown back as she was consumed by the flames. Her wings spread out with them until the entire tree was engulfed. Oh, God, he was gonna die! Hewasgonnadiehewasgonnadiehewasgonnad-

There was pain _everywhere_ , worse than any Tony had ever felt before. It was like he’d just ran along the entire perimeter of the manor property over and over again until he’d simply collapsed. Every muscle ached, making even the smallest of movements unfathomable. It was agony just to _breathe_. Some nasty, sticky substance clogged his nose and mouth. It tasted like he’d decided to clean the toilets at school with his tongue. The thought alone made him gag and set off a whole new round of agony.

Tony felt hyper-aware of the rough wood beneath his cheek, the cloth of his clothes rubbing against his skin. The minutes dragged by slowly, each one a small eternity, until Tony finally felt able to crack his eyes open just the barest bit. He expected to be blinded by light, somehow, but everything was pitch black. And _cold_. He felt absolutely freezing.

He tried to swallow, but only succeeded in setting off a coughing fit. Each cough set off a wave of pain through his body, starting from his core and radiating outward. It was terrible. He just wanted it to end, wanted so badly for it to be over. Was this what death felt like?

No, he realized, and he could say that with certainty because he knew what death felt like. He knew what it was to die because he’d done it and now he’d _come back._

Suddenly, the dark blobs in the darkness looked so much more familiar. He could make out the vague shape of the table where his kidnappers had sat to make the call to his father. He shifted his arms to find that the ropes that had bound them had been cut through. His ankles, too, were no longer tied together. Gingerly, mindful of his countless aches and pains, Tony levered himself up into a seated position.

His stomach roiled in protest and he was pretty confident in the idea that the only reason he didn’t vomit was because there was nothing in his stomach _to_ throw up. He waited for the urge to pass, moving slowly and pausing often as he climbed to his feet. His head spun in a way that was decidedly unpleasant and he didn’t feel at all steady on his feet. He clung to the wall like it was his only lifeline. At the very least, it was the only thing keeping him upright.

He shuffled along it until he reached the doorway he’d been carried through, the door thankfully unlocked. Maybe the man hadn’t meant to kill him then? It certainly seemed like they didn’t mean for him to be trapped. Then again, why would someone lock in a dead body? It wasn’t like it’d be trying to escape… unless it was a zombie movie. Then it’d definitely make sense. This wasn’t a zombie movie, though. (At least, he didn’t think so. Did he count as a zombie? He _had_ died and come back to life. And he was moving pretty stiffly.)

It didn’t occur to Tony that it being so dark meant that it was night time until he was actually outside of the cabin. All around him, he could hear the sounds of nocturnal wildlife, mostly bugs. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted. There was a time when being alone in the woods, surrounded by so many strange noises, would have terrified him. Now he just stumbled toward the nearest tree.

There was no way for him to see the stars through the thick canopy overhead, and Tony didn’t know how to navigate by the stars anyway. He knew it had something to do with finding the brightest one but, seriously, how did anyone even tell the difference? He just kind of went with his gut and hoped he wasn’t stumbling around in complete circles. The forest had to end somewhere.

He didn’t even realize at first when he made it onto a road. His first thought was just to marvel at how much easier it was to walk all of sudden, without all the undergrowth to trip over. It wasn’t until he actually did trip, far from the first time of the night, and skinned his chin on the concrete that his brain finally made the connection.

He grinned widely, dragging himself up with newfound energy. He was going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have reached the end... There will be two one-shots following this up. One will be from Howard Stark's PoV during this time. The other will be Hela's view of watching Tony grow up. Once those are out of the way we will launch into Fortuitous Revenge's _actual_ sequel! (Finally, I know.)
> 
> As far as the phoenix goes, I know several people asked me about it in the last chapter. According to myth, there is only one phoenix that is reborn over and over and never really dies. In this universe, the phoenixes are a species that are native to Helheim. They have the ability to burn through the Veil, temporarily, and thus allow a soul passage back into the world of the living. However, it uses up all of their own energy to do it and they, in turn, die. So they do have the power of rebirth, just not for themselves. Hela chose not to tell Tony about it ahead of time because she feared he would refuse to take the journey if he knew. (And he would have.)
> 
> Please leave your thoughts in the comments! I love to hear from you guys! It's absolutely keeps me going. :)


End file.
